Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – Seventeen Islamic State militants were killed in a security campaign south of Nineveh, a police commander told Alsumaria News.

“Iraqi troops, backed by U.S.-led international coalition warplanes, have killed five Islamic State militants who were hiding inside an island in the Tigris River near Albu Saif area in southern Mosul,” Nineveh police chief Birg. Gen. Watheq al-Hamadani said on Sunday.

“After the attack, another 12 IS militants tried to escape but the U.S.-led coalition warplanes managed to kill all of them,” Hamadani said, adding that the clampdown was launched under the supervision of Nineveh Operations Commander Maj. Gen. Najim al-Jabouri.

A government campaign, backed by paramilitary troops and a U.S.-led international coalition, has been fighting the Islamic State group, which declared a self-styled “caliphate” from Mosul in June 2014.

On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced liberation of the second largest Iraqi city of Mosul from IS militants, who had captured it in 2014. More than 25000 militants were killed throughout the campaign, which started in October 2016.

Since the city was declared free, security troops continue to comb Mosul areas for hidden IS cells.

Despite the victory over IS there in the city, observers say IS is believed to constitute a security threat even after the group’s defeat at its main havens across Iraqi provinces.